It’s so much fun to go to the farmers’ market. The variety of produce available is at its peak, and it’s wonderful to support local farmers who sell incredibly fresh vegetables and fruits. When I go to the farmer’s market I always quickly walk through the entire area to see what looks particularly enticing, and then go around a second time to make my purchases. This past week several sellers had lovely leeks, so I decided that it was time to dig out my hundred-year-old cookbooks and find a leek recipe.
I found a lovely recipe for Leeks au Gratin. The title of the old recipe wasn’t totally accurate because it also called for potatoes. Regardless of whether this recipe is called Leeks au Gratin or Leeks and Potatoes au Gratin, it’s a winner. Sliced leeks and potatoes are smothered in a white sauce, and then topped with cheese and bread crumbs. The delicate, slightly sweet, mild onion-flavored leeks well paired with the earthy potatoes to create a rustic side dish.
Here’s the original recipe:
Twelve leeks and six potatoes seemed like a lot, so I halved the recipe when I made it. The halved recipes fit into a 1-quart baking dish.
I put a little salt and pepper in the white sauce rather than sprinkling it on top of the cheese and bread crumb topping.
The recipe calls for a relatively small amount of white sauce compared to many recipes for “creamed” or “au gratin” vegetables, but it worked fine, and I was pleased with how the recipe turned out.
I layered the leek and potato slices in the baking dish, and put half of the white sauce of top of them after doing the first layers.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Leeks (and Potatoes) au Gratin
6 leeks
3 medium potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt + 1/2 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar.)
1/3 cup fine bread crumbs (I grated a slice of bread to get the bread crumbs.)
Preheat oven to 350° F. Clean and trim the leeks. Slice the white and light green parts of the leeks into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in a saucepan and cover with water; add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Using high heat bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until the leeks are tender (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and drain.
Peel and then slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch slices. (If the slices are large, cut each slice in half.) Place in another saucepan, and cover with water; add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Using high heat bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until the sliced potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and drain.
In the meantime, in another pan, using medium heat, melt butter, then stir in the flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Gradually, add the milk while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the white sauce begins to thicken.
Put 1/2 of the cooked potatoes in a baking dish. (I used a 1-quart baking dish.). Add 1/2 of the cooked leeks. Spread 1/2 of the white sauce over the vegetables in the dish. Add the remainder of the potatoes, and then the remainder of the leeks. Spread the rest of the white sauce over the vegetables in the dish. Sprinkle the grated cheese, and then the bread crumbs, on top. Bake for 15 minutes or until hot and the bread crumbs are lightly browned.
This sounds like the perfect side for a cold day! I think this one is going to make it to the Thanksgiving table….
It would be a lovely addition to a Thanksgiving dinner.
This looks really lovely Sheryl, and I am definitely going to give it a try! Since I have tons of fennel growing in my garden, I might swap out some of the potatoes.
mmm. . . I like the idea of adding fennel to this.
I was brought up on dishes like this, and I still enjoy them.
So do I. My mother made Scalloped Potatoes from time to time. It was a baked potato dish that contained sliced potatoes and a little chopped onions in a white sauce.
I seldom buy leeks, big price difference from onions, but this might make it worth it…
This time of year you might get lucky and find leeks very reasonably priced at a farmers’ market. I got a nice bunch of them for only $2 last week at a farmers’ market. When I bought them, I remember thinking that the farmer had underpriced them – and that I would have been willing to pay more.
I have never cooked with leaks and that recipe has everything I like in it. It can easily be converted into GF.
You should give leeks a try. They have a very nice flavor. I think that you’d like an adapted version of this recipe.